Flexible connection for coöperating members.



. ,gh-E. WEBSTER.' 'LBXIBLLUONNEGTION POR GOPBRATING MEMBERS.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.N3,'1906. v

` Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

WiNESSES: INVENTOR -A .4 BY' Yl y rarnnr orrroii,

JOHN- E. WEBSTER, CIF PlT'ISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T() WETINGHOUSE ELEC- ylRlU t MANUFAUTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OFPENNSYLVANIA-lt FLEXEELE CONNECTION FOB COPERATING MET/[BEESSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 1909,

To all whom. 'it may concern:

Be it known that l, Joux E. llvnns'rnn, a citizen oit the llnitedStates, and a resident ot IPittsburg, in the county ot AlleghenyL andtritate of llennsyl 'anim have invented a new and usetul Improvement inFlexible.' t`onuectioiis for Cooperating Members, of which thelollowiugis a specification.

My invention relates to resiliently oonnected members and particularlyto connections between electric motors and the parts driven thereby.

The object ot my invention is to provide resi lent cushioning' means forabsorbingthe energy ot relative loi'igitndinal niovelneiits ol tivomembers thatr shall be simple in emr struelion and less liable to injuryand rupture than others heretofore employed.

lu a patentv No $16,612 `granted to the Westinghouse lleetaio Sifilanutaeturing t" f upon an application tiled by Robil? is l'orth aresilifent Connection between the-driving wheels of a. yehiJ oQuilithatloosely surrounds the drivingr axle upon which the propellingmotors are mounted. the said Connection comprising' means for absorbingthe energy of relative longitudinal motion between the axle and thefutilib The Speeilie means, employed in th intent referred to compriseshelical compresion springs that are interposed between the ends of thequill and the drivingl wheels, but/these are so mounted as to be subjectto transverse .trains and are therefore liable to derangement andrupture. l-ldcording;I to the present invention, the cushioning means soconstructed that it 'is not liable, to derangenient and rupture and ismore satisfactory in servire than the aforesaid means.

rlie single fie-ure oit' the accompanying drawing' is a View, intransif'erse section, of a portion of an electric motor and means formounting the Same thaty embody my invention.

Loosely surroundingv the driving axle l of a vehicle, iS a quill 2 uponwhich is mounted an electric motor 3, the armature 4 ot which is rigidlyscoured to the quill. The tield magneti'ranie 5 en the "motor is sosupported upon the quill7 by n'icans of, bearii'ig's 6, aS to permit oi're ative rotation between thek .saine 4andwthe quill i and is preventedfrom rotation by any suitable means (nolrsliowu). rl"he endkolZ thequill is provided with au aunular flange or radial arms T from whichcylindrical bosses or studs 8 project into chambers l) in a drivingWheel 1l) that is mounted upon the axle l. The bosses S are surrounded.Within the chamber. by springsA lljsuoh as torni thesubject-matter oflalent- No; 81771325 granted to the llyestinghouse Illeetric &Manufacturinrr (ompanyu as assignee of Robert Siegfried, though othersuitable resilient cushioning means may be employed, if desiredJ Thebosses S are hollow and contain, cylindrical receptacles l2 ot' cupshape that are seated against a shoulder 'l2a provided by a reduction inthe internal diameter ot' the boss. The receptacles l2 contain helicaleonu'iression springs lll and pistons ll at the outer ends thereol',rods or bolts 15 that. are -attached to the pistons and extend throughopenings iu the inner ends ot' the receptacles. The pistons 14 areprovided with Wearing -surfaces lo that engage corresponding wearing'surtaees 17 on the covers 1S l'or the outer ends of the chambers 9.

lVhen there is relative transverse motion between the axle` l and thequill 3, the4 enraging faces 10 and 17 sin'tply slide overeoue anotherand produce no distortion ofi or transverse strains upon the springslil. When relative 'longitudinal nui'vemeut hctween the axle and thequill occurs, the pistons litwill be moved inwardly against the pressureof the springs 1?), which are thereby caused to absorb the energy ot'such movement. By inclosing the springs 13 as set forth, they n'iay beplaced. under a slight initial. eoinpression before the receptacles areplaeed in the Cylindrical openings in the bosses, and, eol'isetpiontly,no dilliculties arise from this souree during' the assembling of thestructure. The receptacles l2 may be readily removed, ifthe parts 14aud-17 become Worn from use, and replaced by new parts. f

l claim as my invention:

1l. The combination with a memberhaving v a chamber, a cooperatingmember having,` a i hollow boss that projects into the chamber,

and resilient means surroui'idiug the boss' within the chandler, ot acylinder within the boss7 a piston therefor that engages the end wall otthe chambe aud a helical spring between the piston aud the inner endol'the cylinder.

2. The mimbiualiou with a member having 'l chamber, o't a cylinder ing apiston a chamber, ay coperating member yhaving a hollow boss thatprojects into the chamber, and resilient means surrmindintgr the bosswithin the chamber, of acylinder within the boss, apiston in the outerend of the cylinder that engages the end lwall of the chamber, a helicalspring within the cylinder, andl a rod that projects through the innerend of `the cylinder and is attached to the piston.

chamber, o't: a cylinder within the boss containing'resilient means, anda piston in the outer end ot the cylinder having a piston rod thatextends through the inner end of the cylinder.v j y '5.- 'l`liecombination with a wheel having` a. ..\'l.indrital ('hanibe'l and adrivingmember iaviug a vhollow lstud or boss located in said,-

the outer end of said spring and the outer 35 end wall of the chamber.

(i. The combination with a rotatable'member having a chamber, and aeoperating member having a hollow-stud located in said chamber,` acushioning means surrounding said stud within the chamber, a piston inthe outer end ot' the stud and a spring located in the stud and servingto hold the piston in engagement with the end Wall of the chamber. l

7. Thecombination with a wheel having a cylindrical chamber, and adriving member havinga cylindrical hollow stud of-,smaller diameter, ofa resilient cushion interposed between the adjacent cylindrical Surfacesof the chamber and the stud, a cylinder within the stud, a piston in thecylinder that engagesone end of the chamber` and a helical springb'etween thegpiston and the inner end ot' the cylinder.

' AIn testimony wherepf, I have hereunto suhscrilaal my name this 28thday of November, 1906.

l i JOHN F. VJEBSTER. lVitnesses 1 ()'l"ro S. SoHanuin,

Bumm' Hines.

